A Justice Committee report has called for urgent government intervention into legal aid to increase fees and enable better access to justice.
Access to Justice: Legal Aid calls for the findings of 2022’s Legal Aid Means Test Review, which proposed income and capital thresholds for legal aid eligibility, to be implemented.
The review also recommended removing the means test entirely for some civil cases, including legal representation for children, and for parents whose children are facing proceedings in relation to the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.
The Justice Committee calls for the “reviewing and uplifting (of) legal aid fees to ensure the sustainability of the sector, and reorganise the objectives and delegated authorities of the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) around access to justice.”
The committee has highlighted how the current eligibility threshold would leave 76% of single parents with one primary school aged child in a so-called justice gap – ineligible for legal aid but unable to afford private advice or representation.
The result is a much higher risk of miscarriages of justice, the Law Society warns.
Responding to the report, Law Society president Mark Evans said: “We have long campaigned for increased investment in the justice system. This report lays bare the consequences of years of underinvestment in legal aid. We are pleased the committee recognises the importance of legal aid as a crucial public service. When legal aid works properly, it protects fundamental rights and ensures the justice system works fairly for us all.
“The new UK government has a lot to do to repair the system. Investment in justice and legal aid adds value to the whole justice system and beyond. Early advice steers cases away from the courts when they don’t need to be there, ensures that cases do not escalate unnecessarily and it ultimately saves time and money across the public service sector.
“The committee’s report echoes what the Law Society and other organisations have been saying for years. Legal aid providers have been struggling to survive, legal aid deserts are growing, and an increasing number of people don’t have access to legal representation or justice. We welcome the report’s recommendations to urgently increase financial eligibility thresholds, invest in early advice and representation where needed, rebuild court capacity and properly fund criminal, civil and family legal aid.
“If the government is serious about halving violence against women and girls, then improving access to family legal aid must be central to the Family Justice Strategy. We also continue to seek clarity from the government on their timetable for implementing the means test changes. The evidence is clear. Legal aid provision is crucial to assuring everyone can access justice. The new government’s response to this report will be a key test of its commitment to ensuring the legal system works for everyone.”
CILEX president Sara Fowler said: “The crisis in legal aid has been apparent for many years, with a lack of investment in our justice system seeing increases in those unable to access legal representation and a steady decline in the number of providers available to take on legal aid work. This report should act as a wake-up call to the government. Access to justice for all is a fundamental aspect of our democracy and as it stands, legal aid provision is falling well short of delivering that.”
Last week the government announced an additional £34 million funding for criminal legal aid to “help strengthen the legal sector, enabling more cases to be heard and driving down the court backlog”.
There is no indication of additional funding for civil legal aid, which The Family Law Company director Carrie Laws warns “urgently needs the same attention” to ensure victims of domestic abuse receive fair treatment.
“A victim’s route through the family courts – getting a non-molestation order, resolving arrangements for children (including who they live with and who they spend time with), separating finances from an abusive partner – often runs parallel to a criminal case, sometimes for years,” she explained. “If the criminal side moves faster but the family side is still under-resourced, victims can end up protected in one court and almost entirely unsupported in the other.
“It’s not just victims of domestic abuse who suffer because of the lack of legal aid. Family legal aid eligibility for divorce and child arrangements has narrowed steadily and significantly since 2013, and in most cases now, gateway evidence of domestic abuse is the only route in.”
With family legal aid means assessment based on 30-year-old figures, Laws says many people, mainly women, are living in poverty but assessed as ineligible for legal aid.
“If the government is serious about halving violence against women and girls within a decade, family legal aid urgently needs the same attention as the criminal courts are getting today.”
